1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to pontoon boats, and more particularly to the wall assembly of a pontoon boat.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pontoon boats are becoming an increasingly popular choice among boat owners who are looking for a vessel that can accommodate a large family or group of people in a comfortable environment for leisure and/or entertainment purposes. Additional advantages of pontoon boats over other options include their ability to navigate shallow water with ease, their relatively low cost compared to other boat options of comparable size, the ability to configure the deck area with a variety of seating configurations and other options, and their ease of handling to name just a few.
Pontoon boats are typically constructed to include a generally flat platform or deck which is mounted to two or more hollow, tubular floatable pontoons to support the deck off the water. The typical construction further includes some type of barrier or wall system that extends about the perimeter of the deck to define a passenger space and some type of seating arrangement within the passenger space.
The wall system itself includes multiple sections of tubular structural framing that is anchored to the decking. Often, the open areas of the framing are fitted with decorative panels, or skins, of sheet metal to provide a solid wall appearance as well as a containment barrier for the passengers on board.
One type of wall system in many modern pontoon boats is curved to provide the pontoon boat with a clean and luxurious external appearance. Known curved pontoon walls of the prior art are made by first forming the tubular framework in planar sections and securing panels to the framework with fasteners, e.g. rivets. Once the planar wall sections are formed, they are roll formed as needed to bend all or part of the wall section to the desired curvature. A problem inherent with this approach is that it places great stress on the wall segments, and particularly the panels which are generally no greater than three hundredths of an inch (0.03 in) thick. The stress of the bending operation is born in part by the panels and they tend to stretch and distort under the stress giving the panels a non-uniform appearance (e.g., buckling, dents, kinks, etc). Some manufactures have tried to minimize the appearance of these stress-induced imperfections by employing a corrugated or ribbed panel material which helps with the defects, but which also detracts from a smooth appearance of the panels that may be more appealing to some boat owners.